A Thief's Heart

by A Caprice

  “Yes?”

  He raised his eyebrows. “I still want to know, but I don’t fear the answers as I once did. If my grandfather wasn’t who I hope he was, well, it doesn’t change my life. It doesn’t change me.”

  She rubbed her thumb along the back of his hand. “No. You’ll still be wonderful, no matter what we find.”

  He brought her hand up to his mouth and kissed. “Enough about me and my issues. We need all of our wits about us to bring down the man who tried to kill you.” He paused at the entrance to the freeway to Geneva. “Are you ready? I could put you in a safehouse, keep you out of this while I figure a way to take him out.”

  That sounded…ominous. Did it make her a bad person that the thought of Gio killing for her made her heart swell? Probably, but she wasn’t going to worry about it. Not now.

  “I’m ready. I’m done hiding.”

  He nodded, and put the car in gear. “Then let’s do this.”

  Chapter Ten

  The drive took longer than she expected, an accident turning Geneva traffic from bad to worse, but she was in no hurry. Of all the outcomes she envisioned occurring from this meeting, not many of them ended well for her.

  If she’d misjudged Hidrogo, or if Chirac got to her first, she and Gio could end up dead. If she did reach Hidrogo, and he didn’t believe her, she could be fired. Or, even if he did believe her, she could wind up in an ARC prison.

  She didn’t think the director would appreciate her distinction that she and Gio had merely borrowed the decoder.

  So her options were dead, fired, or jailed. Or most likely, fired and jailed. None of the scenarios swirling through her head ended up with a ticker-tape parade for her and Gio.

  Her foot tapped a restless tattoo on the floorboard as they approached ARC headquarters. “Should we break in, do you think? If Chirac is monitoring my badge access…”

  “I doubt he will be monitoring it today. He thinks we are still tied up.” He slid into a parking spot on the street and exited the car. He circled it and joined her on the other side, taking her hand. They strolled to the main entrance, like lovers who didn’t have any cares in the world. “Besides, it is broad daylight and the office is full of employees. What can he do to us without exposing himself?”

  They got in line for security. “I don’t know,” she said in a low voice. “But be on your guard. Last night he just walked up to me and I got dizzy and fell asleep.”

  Gio smiled to the guard as he showed his ID and got a visitor’s pass. But Amanda could see it was all gritted teeth. Once cleared, they walked to the elevators and Amanda hit the floor for the executive offices.

  The ding of the elevator covered part of Gio’s growl. “Putting people to sleep with your mind. That is a nice power.” He stood close to her as the elevator rose, his body tense, as though ready to spring into action at the first hint of a threat.

  “Yes…” A thought clicked into place. She snapped her fingers. “That’s what the nickname means!” They stepped off the elevator and she tugged him along to reception.

  He stared down at her, his brows drawn together. “What?”

  She ignored him and turned to Hidrogo’s assistant. “Is the director in? I need to speak with him.”

  “He’s in with Director Chirac and Agent McGovern right now. I’ll let him know you’re here when he’s finished.” The young woman gave her a polished smile and turned back to her computer.

  “Do you want to wait until Hidrogo’s alone?” Gio murmured. “Or face the dragon himself?”

  When he put it that way, there was no question what she wanted to do. Amanda squared her shoulders. “This really can’t wait.” Ignoring the woman’s protests, she strode to the director’s door, took a deep breath, and pushed it open.

  The three men sitting around a small, glass conference table looked at her in surprise. Chirac’s look flashed to one of panic before flattening into indifference.

  Knowing Gio was at her back, she stepped into the room to confront the man who had tried to kill her.

  “I’m sorry, Director, she just barged in.” The assistant stood behind Gio, hands on her hips.

  Hidrogo pursed his lips. “Amanda, we’re—”

  “I know you’re in a meeting, but this is urgent,” she interrupted. She locked eyes with Chirac, ignoring the chill that rippled down her spine. “And it’s about Director Chirac.”

  Agent McGovern stood. He tried to appear casual, but tension hardened his long limbs.

  Amanda swallowed. If he was colluding with Chirac, this could go very badly. But he’d had a chance to hurt her that first night in the library. If he’d wanted her dead, she would have been.

  And McGovern was big. Powerful. They just must need him if Chirac didn’t want to go down peacefully.

  Chirac pushed to his feet. “Whatever it is, I don’t want to hear it, young lady. Since you lost the Newton decoder, you’ve been behaving most erratically.”

  Gio’s shirt rustled behind her as he stepped closer. He had her back, and it was enough. She lifted her chin. “That is a nice preemptive strike, Chirac. Try to discredit me before I even open my mouth.”

  “Open your mouth about what?” Hidrogo looked between her and Chirac. “What is going on here?”

  Chirac spluttered. “What is going on is this girl has become totally unbalanced. She—”

  Gio stepped beside her. “You will shut up and let her speak.” The menace in his voice was apparent to everybody, and McGovern took a half a step toward Gio, flexing his hands.

  Hidrogo pressed his palms to the table and heaved himself to his feet. “Everybody calm down. Amanda, first introduce the man next to you and then you will speak.” He silenced Chirac’s protests with a pointed look.

  “This is Giovanni d’Onofrio, a friend of mine.” She sucked in a deep breath then blurted out, “And he knows about ARC, about who we really are.”

  Dead silence greeted this announcement, but Agent McGovern’s jaw clenched.

  She didn’t know what the consequences would be for revealing their secret, but she would worry about that later. She pointed at Chirac. “Director Hidrogo, I don’t quite know how to say this except just to say it. Director Chirac has been stealing from ARC, and he tried to kill me to keep his secret.”

  “That is absurd! Ray, you cannot—”

  “There was an explosion at my apartment,” Amanda interrupted. “From a gas leak.”

  Hidrogo’s eyes narrowed and he glanced at Chirac.

  “And I suspect he’s been stealing art from the archives for years. There’s so much clutter down there no one notices anything missing.” She took a step forward. “Until we get audited.”

  “I will sue you for slander, Miss Sullivan.” His face turned beet red.

  “I have proof.” Gio pulled out his cellphone and dragged his finger across the face a few times. “Here are pictures I took of stolen items at Chirac’s home in Lausanne.” He stepped forward and handed the phone to Hidrogo.

  Chirac peered over his shoulder. “That’s not proof. Those pictures could have been taken anywhere.”

  “There’s an easy way to prove that, Director,” McGovern said. “We can take a field trip to your house right now.” He looked at Amanda and winked.

  Muscles she hadn’t even realized were tensed, relaxed. The big agent wasn’t dirty, too.

  “I will not be treated like a criminal,” Chirac shouted. “Ray, you cannot believe the ravings of a woman such as this.”

  Gio clenched his fists, and Amanda placed a calming hand on his arm.

  Chirac continued. “She is incompetent, losing valuable artifacts, destroying property, and you know what she did in Alexandria!”

  Gio slid her a questioning look, and she shook her head slightly. That wasn’t something Gio needed to hear right now. Perhaps not ever.

  Hidrogo paled. “Alexandria,” he muttered. He visibly shook himself. “Martin, she may be a bit…clumsy,
but Amanda is the most talented translator we have, and a great archivist.” He ran a hand through his silver hair. “And there have been no complaints regarding her integrity.”

  “And there have been regarding mine?” Chirac blustered. He turned and stalked to McGovern, his back to Amanda. “Chase, as the lead agent here in Geneva, I demand you start an investigation into Miss Sullivan and her…friend.” His voice dripped with sarcasm. “If anything is missing, they are most likely responsible.”

  McGovern looked down at him. “I will be very thorough with my investigation, Director Chirac.” He smiled widely, his teeth shark-like. “You can count on that. In fact, evidence is already coming in.” He looked over Chirac to the back of the office.

  Everyone turned. Agent Slade stood in the doorway.

  “Well, Jack?” McGovern asked. “How about it? Who’s telling the truth? My vote is for Amanda, but then I always was a sucker for a pretty face.” He winked at her again, something she would have found exasperating except for the delightful grumble it produced in Gio.

  Slade cleared his throat. “I’ve heard enough for my bullshit meter to give me a clear picture. Amanda—” His eyes flew wide. He jumped forward. “Look out!” he warned, but it came too late.

  Amanda’s arm was jerked behind her, and she was torn away from Gio’s side. Chirac put something cool and sharp to her throat.

  Gio spun. His eyes narrowed, and he took one deadly step forward. Another.

  The blade dug into her skin, and she sucked in a breath.

  Jack placed a restraining hand on Gio’s shoulder. “I guess the picture is clear to everyone now.” He looked to Hidrogo. “But, FYI, Chirac was lying.” His words were lightly said, but the eyes he turned back toward Chirac were dead serious.

  Chirac wrapped his free arm around Amanda’s waist and pulled her into the corner, facing the other four men. “Everyone, back off. Come closer and I cut her throat.”

  Her breath hitched in her chest and she felt every pulse of her blood flowing beneath the knife he held to her jugular. Black spots danced in front of her eyes, and Amanda thought that she might faint for the first time in her life.

  Her eyes found Gio’s and stayed there, drinking in the sight of him. The man she was falling for was just a few feet away. He looked pissed but in control. His steadying presence calmed her, and she sucked down deep lungfuls of air, evening out her breathing.

  A ball of blue light formed above McGovern’s open palm. “You kill her and you’ll be dead before she hits the ground.”

  Amanda was not reassured. “Diesel,” she squeaked out. She needed to get everyone’s minds off of knives and electricity balls. Off of anything that wasn’t good for her health. “That’s your nickname, right? You can manipulate gases in the air, can’t you? That’s how you knocked me unconscious in the basement.”

  The blade pressed into her skin, and a bead of something warm and liquid rolled down her neck.

  Gio sucked in a breath, his face paling.

  “Four stars for you, Miss Sullivan.” His heart beat wildly against her back.

  She didn’t know if it was reassuring he was as scared as she, or frightening as hell. It probably wasn’t great that the man holding a knife to her was panicking.

  “If any of us start to yawn, you fry, Chirac.” The ball of electricity bounced in McGovern’s hand.

  Chirac grabbed Amanda’s hair with his free hand and yanked her head back. “That’s the problem with us. We rely too much on our paranormal talents when most of the time the normal human way works just fine. This knife and this little bitch will get me out of here.” He tugged again, and Amanda smothered a whimper.

  “Hurt her, and I will kill you slowly,” Gio said evenly. The eyes that were always as warm as her morning coffee when gazing at her now looked ice cold.

  A shiver rippled down her spine. If Gio ever looked at her like he did Chirac, she would run for the hills screaming.

  Chirac wasn’t as smart. He turned the blade, and another trickle of blood ran down her neck.

  Gio’s whole body tensed, like a panther about to leap.

  “How did you blow up my apartment?” she asked, her voice high, reedy. “I understand how you got the gas in the kitchen, but what was that lightning bolt I saw? Can you create that out of the air, as well?”

  Chirac slowly circled her toward the door. “As I said, human weapons work just fine. And I have in my possession a Tesla gun. It’s a basic weapon equipped with a tesla coil, but with it, I am able to shoot twenty thousand volts of electricity within fifty meters. I was in the building across from yours.”

  Her fear dropped away for a second and she grimaced. She was going to owe Gio an apology for mocking the idea of a ray gun. “Very compatible with your talent, Diesel. The fuse to your explosive agent.” Amanda rested her hands on the arm holding the knife to her throat and intentionally stumbled on her heels.

  He yanked her up by her hair, and she felt another sting bite into her neck.

  “Amanda…” Gio’s voice was a hoarse whisper.

  She looked into his beautiful, horrified eyes. She hoped it wouldn’t be for the last time.

  “Don’t call me Diesel, you little bitch. Nobody will call me that stupid name ever—”

  Amanda pulled hard at his knife arm and tucked her chin. At the same time, she stomped the heel of her pump into his foot as hard as she could. Her heel snapped off, and she lurched sideways.

  Chirac howled in her ear. His knife arm went slack, and she took full advantage.

  She dropped to the ground and rolled away.

  A streak of blue light flew over her head, then her sight went dark as Gio threw his body on top of hers.

  She waited a second, her body tense. Nothing happened. No explosions. No screams.

  And no air. She tapped Gio’s side. “I can’t breathe,” she mumbled into his shirt. “Gio, let me up.”

  He levered his torso off of her and looked at McGovern who was casually blowing on his fingertips. “No explosions?”

  “No, man. I just zap people.” He turned to look at Agent Slade. “We need to call in corrections. Tell them to get a cell prepared.”

  Slade pulled out his phone. “On it.”

  Gio rolled to his feet and pulled her up. He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and held it to her neck. “You were cut.” He glared down at an unconscious Chirac, and Amanda pulled him away before Gio could kick him.

  “Just a little cut,” she said and rubbed her hand on his chest.

  Director Hidrogo hurried up to them. “I’ve called in a medical team, if you need it.”

  “Yes,” Gio said, the same time she said, “No.”

  Hidrogo chuckled, his shoulders dropping away from his ears. He looked at Chirac and his face sobered. “I’ve known Martin for over fifty years. He was always a greedy little jerk, but still, I never expected this.” He studied Amanda. “How long have you suspected him?”

  “Since yesterday.”

  “And why didn’t you come to me then?” he asked gently.

  “I didn’t have any evidence.” She chewed her bottom lip. “And I didn’t think you’d believe me. No one believed that I hadn’t lost the decoder.”

  Hidrogo frowned. “Those are two very different things. It’s easy to think someone, anyone, can misplace something. But I don’t think you’re a liar. If you had come to me with your suspicions about Chirac, I would have taken them seriously.

  Guilt wrapped around her chest, squeezing, at the hurt expression on the director’s face. She dropped her head. “I should have come to you. I’m sorry.”

  “And I know just how you can make it up to me. This audit has just turned into an official disaster. I need someone to work with our accountants to catalog everything in Chirac’s house and in our basements.” Hidrogo rubbed his hands together as Amanda groaned. “I should have put you together with our accountants long ago. If anyone can interpret the tax code, Aman
da, it would be you.”

  She spluttered. “My talent doesn’t…I can’t…”

  “Yes?” Hidrogo asked, eyes wide.

  Gio leaned in close. “He’s teasing you.”

  “Oh.” She frowned at the director’s delighted grin. “Well, since I’m already apologizing, I have another confession.” She looked around and saw that Agent Slade wasn’t in earshot. No one to call her on her lie. “I did lose the decoder. It wasn’t stolen. I found it in the basement yesterday.”

  Gio stilled and Amanda forced herself not to look at him.

  Hidrogo narrowed his eyes and he looked from Gio back to Amanda. “Yet you were so adamant that it was stolen,” Hidrogo said.

  Gio cleared his throat. “Sir—”

  “As long as it has been found and put in its proper place, that’s all that matters,” Hidrogo said, his tone firm. He watched as Chirac’s body was carried out on a stretcher. “I will go with him. I want to be there when he awakens.” With a nod to Gio and a squeeze to Amanda’s shoulder, he swept out of the room.

  McGovern smirked at them before he exited the office too, leaving Amanda and Gio alone.

  He dabbed at her neck. “I think the bleeding has stopped.”

  “Like I said. A small cut. Nothing to worry about.”

  Gio grabbed her shoulders. “He had a knife to your throat. Do not make light of it.” He pulled her into his chest and wrapped her in his arms. “I could have lost you.”

  They stood there, just holding each other, until the tension seeped from their bodies.

  “You didn’t need to lie for me.” Gio rubbed her back in slow circles. “I don’t want you to get in trouble because of my actions.”

  “I did it for purely selfish reasons.” She buried her face in his chest, inhaling his scent. Five minutes ago she’d thought she was going to die. Never to touch Gio again. Never to hear his voice. “If you went to jail, who would keep me warm at night?”

  He huffed. “I will do more than keep your bed warm.” His hand drifted lower. He squeezed her butt. “And tonight, I will show you just how grateful I am. Over and over again.”

  That…didn’t sound half bad. She glanced at the doorway. Outside of the office were investigators and bureaucrats who would want them to make statement after statement. They might not get home until tomorrow.